Standing With Wendy Davis

     Her courageous stand has inspired the nation as her filibuster was able to kill Governor Rick Perry's draconian anti abortion bill. Many Democrats and prochoice advocates across the nation stood with her in spirit on Tuesday, and this could be the kind of thing that galvanizes the nation and rouses them to stand up for a woman's right to choose. It certainly gained the appreciation of the 26 U.S. Senators who sent her a thank you letter.

    http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/26-senators-send-letter-thanking-texas-sen-wendy

    As Obama's official Twitter account tweeted: Something special is happening in Austin tonight.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/obama-wendy-davis_n_3500083.html

    It was special and the question now is what the ripple effects of it might be.

    "What’s happening in Texas may not stay in Texas."

    “There’s kind of a view nationally that Texas is conservative, very conservative and [that] the leadership could do whatever they want to without taking into account what other people in the state might want,” said Judy Waxman, vice president of health and reproductive rights at the National Women’s Law Center, which opposes the Texas bill. “If this can happen in Texas, if this kind of resistance results in awareness in the nation, women will be heard. I think there are implications for every state and the federal government, as well.”

    Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/texas-abortion-fight-93469.html#ixzz2XPFz5NFb

  

   For one night, we saw the people of Texas stand against this conservative leadership. Rick Perry is not used to losing-at least not in the state:

   "Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced late Wednesday he was calling a special session of the Legislature on July 1 to take up three unresolved issues — including abortion. “Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn,” he said in a statement. “We will not allow the breakdown of decorum and decency to prevent us from doing what the people of this state hired us to do.”

     You've got to like this kvetching about a 'breakdown in decorum and decency.' Now that it's used against them, it seems that conservatives find there's something quite unsavory and unwholesome in the filibuster.

      "This is straight out of an anarchist playbook,” Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life, told POLITICO about the Texas standoff. “I think we all need to duly note this [filibuster] is the only way they could win. That actual vote on the bill did pass.”

     The only way they could win. Yet I never hear Mitch McConnell worrying that this is the only way he can win. 

     Yoest says the pro-abortion rights groups and the noisy protesters at the Texas Capitol are fooling themselves if they think the public wants unfettered access to late-term abortions.

“What happened [Tuesday] night was really outrageous,” Yoest said. “What you’re seeing is a political position, not shared by the majority of the American people, becoming increasingly desperate as they lose through democratic processes. So they created absolute chaos [Tuesday] night. It’s the only way they could win.”

    How many times have we seen the Senate GOP filibuster something against the expressed will of the majority of the American people-starting with the obvious: background checks?

    Another thing you see is the prolife movement trying to shift the rhetoric by saying that these draconian bills that have the effect of shutting down most healthcare clinics that offer abortions is meant to 'protect women and babies.'

    In fact there is no interest in protecting women and all these measures harm them. This is why they oppose rape even with the life of the woman at risk. This is why they defund women's healthcare. 

    With this bill, Governor Perry was very ambitious, he tried to push this thing threw as part of a huge omnibus:

    "All eyes were on Texas not just because it’s a big state with big politicians. The bill itself was big, rolling into an omnibus anti-abortion bill many of the measures coursing through other states — a ban on most abortions after 20 weeks, tough regulations on clinics’ physical plants, hard-to-meet hospital affiliation mandates for doctors and limits on how abortion drugs are administered. That language was added in the House version of the bill, which passed earlier this week."

    As for what's next, the immediate next step in Texas is that Perry will do everything he can to force this through. He's called yet another special session-this last session was itself 'special' and doubtless will keep calling sessions till he gets it through.

   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/26/rick-perry-special-session_n_3505786.html

   However, the large effect will hopefully be a galvanizing of all who truly care about the health and choice of women. Let's do it for Wendy Davis!